Evaluation 7- What have i learnt in the progression from my preliminary task to my final media product?

Below is the final version of my film 'Madison'. I have learnt a lot during the process of creating the opening of our film. I have progressed my practical and technical understand of camerawork, framing, mise en scene, mode of address, editing and use of titles.

 Camera

In the preliminary task i used a range of camera shots including, extreme close ups, mid shots and close ups. However in the final media product i used a larger range of shots such as long shots, and extreme long shots. This shows that i learnt from the preliminary task and added more complex shots to the final product. This made the film better as it had a variety of shots that made the viewing of it more interesting.

We used high angle shots when Dylan was helping Madison pick up her books from the floor, which shows how vulnerable and small Madison is to joining a new school. This is progress as we didn't use any angle shots in the preliminary task.

We didn't use any camera movement shots in the preliminary task as we couldn't fit them into the task with a suitable purpose. However i learned from this and made sure we included a type of camera movement shot in the final product. We included a point of view shot into the final film opening, which was used when Madison was walking through the corridor and every
one was staring at her. This type of camera shot allows for the audience to see what the character is seeing and how they are feeling. It is very useful when trying to get the audience to empathise with the character and the situation. 

Framing

During the preliminary task there was quite a lot of additional space at the sides of the shots which showed things that weren't required in the frame. This drew away the attention of the audience from the important conventions of the film. It is important to frame each shot well as this means that only the important things that the audience need to see are in included. This makes better quality of film and is better viewing for the audience. We showed progress in this area by making sure the framing was improved for the final film for the reasons stated previously. We had to make the sure the framing was appropriate while filming.

Mise En Scene

The lighting during the preliminary task was easy to get right as the rooms we were filming in had plenty of windows and lights if needed. We carried on our knowledge and practise from the preliminary task to the final film so the lighting in each shot was the best possible. Lighting is an important convention in any film as it indicates to the audience what the mood is at the time during the film.

Costumes are important in any film as they can connote the characters feelings or role in a film. This helps the audience understand the film better. In our preliminary task we had no chance to change our costume and no need as they were sensible clothes and had no role in the preliminary task as the short film did not have genre. This task made us think about the use of clothes and which clothes are appropriate for the task in mind and so helped us with the final task. However this was not the case for our final product as the genre was teen angst we thought it would be appropriate to include trendy and modern clothes as this is a convention of the teen angst genre. Modern and fashionable clothes are important to teenagers, so this is makes the film more relatable and so the audience can identify particular social groups via their clothing.

In our preliminary task we didn't require the use of any props because of the simplicity of the task. but we realised that props can be used to improve a film as they help the audience understand the genre and film more and also enjoy the film more with appropriate props. We used school bags for our character Madison as this connotes that they are going school and this helps the audience understand. 

In the preliminary we had no choice about where to film, we had to film in the school as this was the most time efficient place to film and also the easiest place to film in an hour lesson. However doing this allowed us to see how simple and easy it would be to film in the school. So during filming of the final task we used the school for one of the scenes as this is a convention of the teen angst genre. However we also need to take the camera out of school in order to film. This keeps the film interesting for the audience with different settings and different events occurring. By filming a scene at home it allows the audience to relate to the main character as they can see that she lives an ordinary life similar to theirs.

Mode of Address 

In the preliminary tasks we learnt that it is important to speak in standard English, without a distinct accent, and as clearly as you can. This makes the film sound of a higher standard. It also allows the audience to understand the characters better than if they were talking in 'slang' or with an accent. A mixed sentence structure is also important as this keeps the audience's attention on the speech and so it is easier to follow the story line. Gestures can help with telling the story but usually these aren't very noticeable in film. We carried this learning across to our final media product to keep the overall quality of the product high and make the film more appealing to the audience. 

Editing

 The 180 rule was used in my preliminary task. It is an important benefit to the film because it helps reduce the possibility of a continuity error that would be seen by the audience. We carried this technique over to our final film as it mean the audience will not notice any major errors and so the film will make more sense to them.
Match on action was used in the preliminary task in order to show the door opening during a change of shot. We thought this was a good aspect of editing as it allows the camera angle to change but the scene continues to flow and so also used it in the final media product. Match on action creates a sense of continuity. The action carrying through the different camera angles creates a 'visual bridge' and so draws the attention of the audience away from any slight continuity errors there might be.
Shot reverse shot is usually used during conversation between two characters. It is typically a point of view shot or an over the shoulder shot of what the person is looking at or talking to. This is followed by the reverse shot from the other character/object's point of view showing the first character. Shot reverse Shot and the 180 rule are usually linked together to give the audience a sense of location of the characters in the shots. We used this in our preliminary task between two characters who were having a simple conversation. This meant the audience could understand the conversation better and the location of each person. We used this technique during our final film when Madison and Dylan were having a conversation and introducing themselves. This allowed the audience to see the emotions and how the characters were feeling and so enabled them to empathise easier
Cross cutting is used in order help the audience keep track of action that is happening in two or more different locations. This can mean that the two events are linked and one will eventually have an impact on the other, but this is not always the case. We did not use this technique in either our preliminary task or our final film. This is because the preliminary task was a simple one scene film and our final film was the opening of a film and so only one event was happening.
A jump cut is when two shots of the same subject are taken from slightly different angles. This editing effect gives the perception of jumping forward in time. Again, we did not use these in either the preliminary task or the final film opening.
Juxtaposition is a technique that involves using dissimilar shots to highlight the similarities or differences between these shot sequences. This usually creates a contrasting effect. We did not use juxtaposition in our tasks, although we would have further through the film.
Flashbacks help the audience to understand what has happened previously to get into the situation that is happening in the film.
We had a chronological sequence of shots in the preliminary task and the final film opening. Teen angst films conventionally have a flashback to show the audience why the situation of the film is how it is. This allows the audience to understand the character's feelings. This will make the audience empathise with the characters and so will want to watch the film to see how the situation evolves and what happens.
We used special effects such as the pixie dust over the title and the fast forwarding during the film. This makes it more fun for the audience and makes the film more interesting. This is a benefit as the audience prefer things that are fun and keeps them interested in the film.

We use transitions to show a change in shot. These can show different moods or a significant change in scene. In our preliminary task we only used simple cuts from shot to shot. However in our main task we used more transitions. We used a few different transitions during our final film, one of which was like turning over a book at the start. This was used as it signifies the start of a story like starting a book but also but it helps to connote the genre of the film which is teen angst. Other transitions include fading to black and dissolves. Transitions can help to keep the film interesting as well as helping with progression of the film.

Titles

We used titles to display who the key people and their roles in the process of creating the film were in the final film. We did not use titles in the preliminary task as it was too short to fit in titles. However if the footage was longer than we would have fitted in titles. This made it difficult when it came to adding in titles to our main film. These titles showed the audience who was behind the film. This can be a benefit to the film as they might recognise a name and so would be tempted to watch the film more so than if they did not recognise the name.

The size of the titles were important as they needed to be seen by the audience but at the same time they couldn't be too big because it would cover up/distract the audience from what is happening in the film. 

The font of the titles were serif font which connotes that the film is not simple and also connotes that the film will be of high quality. The colour of the titles was pink as this connoted that romance and relationships would be important in the storyline. However the roles of the people listed was in white as this connotes innocence and purity which is associated with young girls. The pink colour scheme in an inspiration we took from Mean Girls.

As stated above we positioned the titles in a place where the audience are not distracted by the titles while the film is playing the opening. 

The titles had different transitions such as a fade, a slide and appearing one letter at a time. This shows that the film will be fun as the titles themselves are fun there are lots of different transitions which keeps interest in them up and the audience don't view the film as boring.